100 Ways To Kill a Doctor: Lightening Revelation
by Shenandoah76209
Summary: You never know what you're gonna stumble across out in the Black. And experimenting with the ship you're on can be very dangerous.


**Rules** :

1\. Sheldon/Penny – They can be platonic, romantic, smutty, Super Heroes/Villains, etc.

2\. Leonard/Amy's death MAY occur anytime from the Pilot thru Season 9

3\. The death must be completed in a single chapter, although you are welcome to contribute as many different forms of death as you like as long as they are a chapter each.

4\. The story must be no more than 1,500 words long.

5\. Deadline is October 31, 2015.

* * *

 **100 Ways To Kill a Doctor: Lightening Revelation**

There was nothing like sailing through the Black, Penny smiled as she headed back to the galley. "We're all set Cap'n." She told the handsome man in suspenders and worn boots. "Course set an' nothin' in our way."

"Good," Malcolm Reynolds wasn't much for praise but he considered his crew family even temporary crew like Penny. "Zoe says Wash'll wanna sit with you some after lunch, give you some pointers. 'Tween you an' me I think he just misses his dinosaurs."

"Well I ain't touched 'em 'cept to dust and pet 'em." Penny grinned. Every pilot had a little quirk, something that helped 'em fly. She always had to have a Penny Blossom on her somewhere or she didn't feel right. "How's he doin'?"

"Pretty well considerin'. He's lucky he only lost his leg below the knee. Simon says any further up and that spear... Well, he'd a bled out in five minutes flat." Reynolds finished making the coffee and poured her a cup, adding the milk she preferred before handing it to her. "We appreciate you takin' a chance an' flyin' with us Miss Cobb."

Penny shrugged, "Cousin Jayne said this was the best boat in the 'Verse. Ya'll needed help an' I needed the experience. Maybehaps I can get a job pays good after this, be able to help out at home."

"Well if you can't when Wash is done with ya, you're welcome to fly with us 'til you find somethin'." Mal smiled at the pretty little pilot.

"Cap'n Daddy, there are echoes in the dark," River walked in pulling Jayne and Simon behind her. "We don't want to run anyone over and burn them with our shine."

"River, _xiǎo lóng_ ," Jayne's hand on the girl's back was gentle. "Gotta try again okay. We ain't gettin' it."

"Run anyone over..." Penny mused. " _D_ _ì yù_ she means the proximity alert is offline again. Gorramit!" She raced back to the bridge, spilling her coffee in the process and barely registering the burn on her thigh as she pulled Serenity up short just in time to avoid hitting a foundering ship not fifty yards from their bow. Turning to yell for the captain she found him right behind her. "Tell Kaylee th'alarm's gone wonky will ya? Won't do us no good to crash into someone even if they are dead in the water."

"Not dead. Sleeping. Optimal use of remaining oxygen. Minimal power to sustain cryo." River's words weren't nearly as confused now that she wasn't Reading the Black. "Brilliance and betrayal. Must destroy one and nurture the other."

"Guess we're goin' explorin'," Mal exchanged a glance with Jayne. "Penny get us close as you can."

"Safe," River said absently. "Not a baited ship. No Reavers. Just foolishness and desperation."

"Never mind then, get us docked to her and we'll see what's what."

* * *

No one was prepared for what they found. River had actually stared in astonishment when they'd discovered the makeshift cryo tubes. The four men within them were thin and if they hadn't been found probably would have died after another five years. One women was dead. Her dark hair nearly covered an emaciated skeletal form. The other was terribly thin but alive according to the readouts River was scanning.

"Amazin' they managed to build this with what's aboard the ship." Zoe murmured.

"Yeah but they had a choice see?" Kaylee was pointing at the parts they used. "They had ta gut the engines an' life support ta do it. They could keep the engine's runnin', keep life support, an' run outa fuel or they could do this but they're on the drift. Just hopin' someone stumbles on 'em."

"Someone honest who won't just space 'em and take the boat for scrap," Penny looked up at Jayne. Those were bad odds.

"Simon, can you an' River get these folks revived?" Mal asked quietly. "How long've they been like this?"

"They have been in space two years," River was going over the cortex. "The ship's engines failed after a year."

"Mal, we need to get them out of cryostasis as soon as possible," Simon was examining the tallest of the men. "It was never meant to be a long term solution. I'll start them on nutrient drips; gradually wake them up."

"Found the records," Zoe had been looking through the cortex once they'd fed the ship some power. "We've got names. Seems these folks were the only ones willin' to take the chance of goin' into cryo. Rest of the crew took off in the life pods an' shuttle. Left 'em here."

"Don't guess they got far." Mal said grimly as he considered the area of the Black. It wasn't quite Reaver territory but it wasn't 'friendly' Alliance patrolled space either. "Hard choice to make."

* * *

The soft beeping was his first indication of discovery. Finally he opened his eyes and regarded the ceiling above him. Drugs were in his system as the ceiling seemed inordinately interesting.

The sounds of a scuffle drew his attention. Shouting. Whiny, indignant tones and the smack of flesh on flesh. "You listen an' listen good," A rich velvety female voice was laying down the law. "I don't care whose fault it is. You're gonna stay in bed an' rest or our gunhand'll tie you down. You'll still be in bed. I'm fine with either."

"Won't listen," An elegant voice remarked and dark eyes in a porcelain face came within his view. "Stubborn. Can't admit his own faults."

He nodded, managing to speak in a voice that still held the twang of a childhood on the Rim for all its proper pronunciation. "Can't say I'm surprised. Leonard never dealt well with corrections."

"Thinks himself above mistakes." The girl nodded and offered him a cup of water with a straw to moisten his throat.

"Where are we? My companions, are they well?" Sheldon frowned worriedly.

"Woman called Amy Farrah Fowler did not survive cryo stasis," He was told in a gentle solemn voice. "The others, including the homunculus, are well enough. The little man may die eventually. First mate has no patience for fools."

Sheldon sighed and nodded, closing his eyes again. "Thank you."

* * *

He woke suddenly. Something loud and startling in the darkness and when the infirmary was illuminated he could smell the blood.

"Hey sugar, are ya'll right?" Green eyes, a gentle Rim voice like home, and golden hair were his first impressions. Strong hands helped him to sit up and he got his first look at the infirmary and the people around him. Howard and Raj were still asleep in their own beds, Bernadette nearby, still recovering. On the floor was Leonard, blood pooling under him while a dark haired man in surgeons garb worked on him.

The dark haired girl was standing near a huge man with a goatee and bright blue eyes. But it was the man in the suspenders, standing near a dark skinned woman who caught Sheldon's attention. He was holding a trembling girl in his arms, obviously comforting her as she cried.

"What... happened?" Sheldon asked the pretty girl who was aiding him in sitting up.

"Near's I can tell, your friend there got loose an' was tryin' to manhandle Kaylee. She weren't havin' none of it but he scared her pretty gorram good. Cap'n came on 'em as he was trying to yank her outa the infirmary and he shot the no good _hún dàn_." The woman handed him a glass of liquid. "You drink that down, ease your throat some. It's warm tea with a little a my honey in it." She tilted her head. "You got a look of Kerry about you. That were you're from?"

Sheldon couldn't keep from staring at Leonard's dying body. The dark haired man was doing his best but the captain seemed to be a very good shot. "I'm from Kerry yes. My family's from New Dublin." He looked at the big man with blue eyes. "He reminds me of my Meemaw's family."

"That's our gunhand, Jayne Cobb." She smiled. "I'm Penny Cobb, cousin to him on his Daddy's side."

"Dr. Sheldon Cooper," He offered his hand. "My mother is...was? Jubilation Cooper."

Her green eyes lit up and she squeaked happily. "Jayne's Mama's Radiant Cobb. Sister to Jubilation. You an' Jayne are cousins too." She hugged him carefully. "But you an' me, we ain't related, for all we're related to Jayne. Which I'm kinda glad of honey."

Sheldon gave her a shy smile. "I...believe I am glad of it too." There was a truerelief in being around family again, even family who weren't on his intellectual level. Family could be trusted even if colleagues like Leonard could not. A story of betrayal that could wait for another time.

After introductions had been made of course. Cooper men were known for their steadfast hearts and lightening fast choices. Love at first sight Mama called it. He'd court his Penny properly, as a Cooper should.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Well, Leonard really shouldn't try to manhandle Mal's crew should he?_

 _ **Chinese Translations** :_

 _xiǎo lóng_ (young/little dragon)

 _D_ _ì yù_ (hell)

 _hún dàn_ (bastard)


End file.
